Blunt sees end to Romney recruitment duties

Speaking at the regional Red Cross headquarters in St. Louis, Sen. Roy Blunt said key Republican congressmen will be endorsing former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney in the next week.

Joseph Leahy/St. Louis Public Radio

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt says he expects most of his fellow Republican congressman will be lining up behind GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney by the end of the month.

Senator Blunt was handpicked by Romney to garner endorsements for the former Massachusetts governor from his fellow Republican congressmen. He says his task is coming to a close.

With Romney’s primary sweep in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, DC this week, Blunt said he expects most GOP lawmakers to make up their minds in the next 30 days.

“Members are going to be lining up as they have in recent days," Blunt said. "From Paul Ryan and Ron Johnson in Wisconsin to Marco Rubio to others that are going to be announcing in the next week that they’re going to be supporting Governor Romney.”

As for Romney’s Republican challengers, who say they’ll fight Romney all the way to the Republican Convention, Blunt says “pain and suffering are still an option and we’ll see how long that part of the process goes on.”

Romney has about half of the delegates he needs to secure the Republican presidential nomination.